The Bortells rushed to a nearby hospital, and doctors eventually diagnosed Alexis with epilepsy. Dean says the prescribed medication Carbatrol was “like throwing gasoline on a fire.”
“It was terrible. Her seizures went from mainly at night to around the clock,” said Bortell. Even more frustrating, Bortell says the next drug Depakote gave Alexis tremors, spasms, and altered her personality — and the seizures still came. Alexis describes the episodes as “very scary.”
“I kinda black out, and sometimes I start chomping and shaking,” she said.
